Albert Van Metre

My occupation is a builder and developer. I went through Officer
Leadership school out here at Ft. Belvoir in 1946, and I've been in and
out of this particular area since then. We started these apartments
sometime in the early 60s and we've been building down here and renting
these apartments since then. We have built houses all up and down Route
1, Plymouth Haven, Mt. Vernon, the Mt. Vernon sub-division, Fairfield and
Collingwood and quite a few others. Land was available in this area and I
guess that's the main reason. We built Mt. Vernon Woods and part of Rose
Hill. I built Badger Park about 20 years ago, and Hollin Glen which is
right next to Hollin Hills. All of our developments have been very
successful around here. Our water tables are a little high at times, but
otherwise it's all right.

We're sitting on one of his (George Washington's) farms and if you go
into the back of this sub-division (Mt. Vernon Square) and see a great
big tree back there, he mentions that tree in his papers. We've gone to
quite an expense in surgery to save the darn thing.

I think the area is slowly improving. I thought it would improve a lot
faster than it has. The widening of Route 1has done a great deal to
eliminate some of the trash and mess that we have on Route 1. Houses are
very difficult to sell right now and I really don't know why. Interest
rates have been very high.

Route 1 had gotten to about as low as point as it could and the only
thing to do economically was to tear down and rebuild. It hasn't happened
as fast as;1 though it would, it didn't happen as fast as, say, Jefferson
Davis Highway, where the Crystal City situation has occurred almost
overnight, and that looked just like this or worse 10 years ago. It's my
feeling that Route 1 has nothing but a very, very bright future. The
economic value of most of the trash along here is very small which means
that it's more economical to tear down and start over again than to try
and just keep on and on with a poor and shabby looking place. One thing
we'd like to see, as I live in this area, is that the county not approve
the redecoration of some of these marginal establishments, that they be
required to be torn down and started over again. A building that's
too close to the highway or a building that is really an eyesore may be a
menace to the health and welfare of the community. Up and down Route 1
you can see old gas stations, old motels. Sometimes they take those and
they'll put in a palmist or something like that and she can pay like $120
a month but it does not help Route 1 in general. I mean its a poor use of
public property.

The state has built the highway (Route 1) and the state will do some
beautification in planting grass and things of that nature, but if you
want something nice you have to do it yourself.

Land prices have probably increased slower here than the rest of the
county because there is so much junk down here. As that disappears, the
prices, I think, will accelerate.